Hazare Clean-chits Manmohan, Targets Sonia

Anti-graft activist Anna Hazare on Saturday appeared to target Congress president Sonia Gandhi, saying “remote control” is creating “problems” even as he praised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a “good person”. “Prime Minister is a good person. Prime Minister is not bad. Problem comes because of the remote control,” he told a public meeting, in an obvious reference to the Congress president without naming her. Then he went on to say: “Now, we are all confident that in every government, people’s power is the strongest.”

Hazare said if the Lokpal bill is not enacted by August 16, he would return to Jantar Mantar to hold fast-to-death protest and urged people of Karnataka for a “jail-bharo” (fill prison movement) then. He also said six ministers had to resign because of his campaign. Without naming them, he said these six tried to take “revenge” on him but could not touch him because he was not tainted at all.